Apollo Global prices IPO at top of range

Private-equity firm joins rivals Blackstone, KKR as public companies

By

AlistairBarr

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Apollo Global Management priced its initial public offering at the top of an expected range late Tuesday, joining private-equity rivals including KKR & Co. and Blackstone Group as public companies.

Apollo’s IPO priced at $19 a share, at the top of a range of $17 to $19 a share. The stock is due to begin trading Wednesday under the ticker APO.

Apollo, led by Leon Black, tried to go public a few years ago, but the global financial crisis derailed those plans.

Stocks rally despite weak data

Blackstone
BX, +0.18%
and Fortress Investment Group
FIG, +0.30%
managed to complete IPOs earlier, but their shares slumped when the crisis hit. The stocks have recovered, but they are still well below their offering prices.

KKR began trading in Europe first, but the firm secured its U.S. listing
KKR, -0.56%
in 2010.

In recent weeks, Apollo had to cut its price range from $18 to $20 a share to the $17 to $19 range because of market turmoil triggered by unrest in Libya and the earthquake in Japan, according to Scott Sweet of IPO Boutique.

The fact that Apollo has been able to price the IPO at the top of the new range is “very bullish,” Sweet said.

The offering was “multiple times” oversubscribed and there was solid demand retail and institutional investors, he added.

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